


On the Mend

by Place2b



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Fluff, Found Family, M/M, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Place2b/pseuds/Place2b
Summary: Kirby has been in the foster system since he was younghe only has a year left before the system drops him, lucky for him he's placed with NHL star Jonathan ToewsKirby is thrown in to a world of hockey that he's never experienced beforebut with the help of Jonny, the team, and a handsome sweade, the year might not be the worst thing he's lived through
Relationships: Adam Boqvist/Kirby Dach, Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews
Comments: 6
Kudos: 97





	1. Arriving

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! welcome to this au!  
> IDK how the foster care system works in Canada so I'm using the US system...loosely  
> I had to age Kirby down a little bit so he fits in the universe so he is 17 at the beginning of the fic  
> I hope you guys like this and I'll try to update as soon as possible  
> I wont forget about this I promise!!  
> anyways enjoy!

Kirby rested his head against the window of the car, watching the trees fly by. There hadn't been anything besides trees for a few minutes now and he was getting bored. The woman in the front hasn't said anything since she picked him up from school that afternoon.

She glanced at him in the mirror, “Cheer up kid, this'll be good for you.”

Kirby just left out a soft laugh. He knew what was going to happen, hell get dropped off at this new house and get kicked out within the next month. It was the same old formula that he lived through since he could remember. It was a hard life but he knew that he just had to hold on for another year and then he'd be free. Sure he wouldn't have anything once he aged out of the system but it would be better than some of the houses had been placed in.

They finally pulled up to the house, it was bigger than his last one but that wasn't that hard. Considering it was a one story house with way too many kids, he had been the oldest there, forced to share a room with the other two boys who were in middle school and had never heard of deodorant in their lives. Maybe since this was a bigger house he’ll actually have his own room for once.

The woman parked the car and they both got out. Kirby went to the back and pulled out his bags, they were worn out, almost falling apart at the seams, he'd get new ones but he couldn't afford to spend any unnecessary money on things. He looked back at the house where the woman was talking to someone, he couldn't see that well but he could tell it was a man. 

He slowly walked up to the house and stood behind the woman. He made eye contact with the guy, he had dark eyes and fixed him with an intense stare that made him a bit nervous.

“As I was saying Mr. Toews, this is Kirby, I know it was last minute but we really appreciate that you can do this.” the woman said, she looked nervous like this man was going to chase her off his property.

“It’s not a problem ma’am, I'm just glad I can be there for Kirby,” he responded, he was still looking at Kirby, in an almost analyzing way.

“Well then, I’ll get out of your way,” She turned to Kirby, “Be good, this will be good for you.” and then she turned and left.

He looked back to the man who he was going to live with, there was no sign of anyone else in the house which was strange.

“Well Kirby, I'm Jonathan, you can call me Jon or Jonny or whatever you're comfortable with. Lets go inside and get you settled.”

Kirby just nodded and followed behind Jonny as they headed inside there was still no sign of anyone else living here. They walked around the house, Jonny pointing out everything like the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms. When finally they stopped at a room at the end of the hall.

“This will be your room,” he opened the door and they went in, the room itself was bigger than anything Kirby had ever seen adding on to the fact that he was the only one here. “Ill leave you to settle in, let me know if you need anything, the house is yours to explore as well.” and with that he left.

Kirby muttered a quiet thanks and walked in. He sat down on the bed and looked around. He was in disbelief, he was the only one from the system here, it was crazy. Hed been in houses way smaller than this with about 10 more kids then they should have.

He didn't know how long he sat on the bed when he heard knocking on his door.

“Come in”

Jonny peaked his head in, “Hey, I'm about to start dinner, is there anything you want?”

“No, whatever you make is fine.”

“Okay, it should be ready in a few minutes so come down whenever you're ready okay?”

“Okay, cool,” Jonny just nodded and left.

After a few minutes Kirby decided to head downstairs, the house was large with some confusing twists but he eventually found his way to the kitchen. Jonny was standing at the stove, making dinner, Kirby walked up next to him.

“Can I help?” he asked.

Jonny jumped, startled at the sound of his voice, “Kirby hey didn't hear you come down, I'm good here just take a seat at the table ill be there in a sec.”

Kirby nodded and sat down, he looked around the room once more. It didn't have many decorations but there was a group of pictures on the wall over on the side. He got up to investigate.

Upon closer inspection he saw it was a group of guys, they were on the ice, many had terrible beards but they looked so happy. In the center picture he saw Jonny, he was smiling so wide like his face was going to break, he was holding up a trophy and the guys behind him looked just as excited as he did.

“That was from the last time we won, it was a crazy time then.”

Kirby turned and saw Jonny next to him staring at the picture.

“What did you win?” He asked

Jonny just chuckled, “The Stanley cup dude, you know the trophy that the NHL gives out at the end of each season.”

“Never heard of it.”

Jonny looked at him in shock, “You've never heard of the Stanley cup? How is that possible?”

“I don't know, just never got into hockey I guess.” Kirby used to skate, it was his favorite thing to do when he was younger but when he was 5 he went to his first house. They were nice at first but obviously liked their own kids way more than him. He had broken something in the house one day and they took his skates away as punishment. He was too scared to ask for them back so he never did, he eventually got placed somewhere else and he left that house without getting them back.

“Well I hate to tell you this but when the season starts up again you're going to be around hockey a lot, c’mon let's go eat.” Kirby didn't really know what that meant exactly but he figured that it'll make sense eventually.

At dinner him and Jonny didn't talk a lot. Jonny would ask him a question every once in a while and Kirby tried his best to answer but he didn't want to give too much of himself away, he learned that the hard way, don't trust anyone you won't be around for a long time.

As they finished Kirby volunteered to wash up but Jonny insisted that they do it together, like before they didn't talk much, but Kirby was curious, he asked Jonny what he meant by the season starting. Jonny explained that when the season starts they're going to go to Chicago because that's where he plays. He said that since Kirby graduated high school early that it won't be too complicated. Kirby was surprised, he's never left Canada before and soon they'd be leaving for the states. Kirby just nodded and said that he's looking forward to it, even if he's lying he is interested to see a new place.

  
  


Just before they went to bed Kirby knew he had to tell Jonny before anything else happened. He knocked on his door and heard him say he could enter. Jonny was sitting on his bed watching something on his tablet, he sat it down and gave his full attention to him.

“Um, I just wanted to tell you something before we go to Chicago, um, just in case you change your mind about keeping me here…”

“Kirby trust me Ill be ok, what do you need to say?”

“Um.. I… I'm gay.” Kirby kept his eyes on the ground, just incase Jonny got mad.

But instead of feeling a fist or palm to his head he felt two strong arms wrap around him. He slowly brought his own arms around him as well.

“Thank you for trusting me kid, I know it’s been a rough day and well life for you, but trust me it's okay I promise.”

“Thank you Jonny.”

“Also,” He cleared his throat, “me too, I'm kind of seeing someone back in Chicago, so trust me, it's okay.”

Kirby looked at him and nodded again, he couldn't believe this, it was almost too good to be true. He and Jonny said their goodnights and Kirby headed to bed.

As he lied down on his pillow he thought to himself, maybe this time will be different, maybe he could be happy in Chicago with Jonny. He imagined how things would go until he finally nodded off to sleep.


	2. Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonny's POV  
> They head to Chicago where someone special is waiting

Jonny didn’t know what he was going to do. He had applied to be a foster parent years ago, the agency told him when he applied that since he lived a crazy lifestyle that he would be passed up a lot. That didn't really surprise him, with an NHL schedule it would be hard to watch a kid who most likely needed a lot of attention.

He resigned himself to not being a foster parent when a Ms. Williams called him. She said that there was a boy who needed a home, he had been kicked out of his recent home because they said he was causing a disturbance within the home, she said he was older and had trouble in his previous homes. Jonny quickly agreed and said that he’d be ready when they would arrive.

The car showed up a few hours ago with a tall kid in it. Kirby was a skinny boy who seemed extremely guarded. He held himself in a closed off way, always keeping his eyes on the ground, when he did make eye contact with him his eyes were sad and anxious, like he was ready to run at the first sign of trouble.

Jonny didn't really know what to do, he was expecting an older kid but really he was expecting maybe a 13 year old not a kid who was going to be an adult soon. But he was going to make it work, one doesn't win the Stanley cup three times if they were not determined.

The first night seemed successful to Jonny, the kid came out to him, and he came out to the kid. When he told Kirby about his own relationship he could see the weight lifted off his shoulders. Kirby said his goodnights and left.

Jon pulled out his phone and called Patrick, he hadn't had the time earlier that day to let him know about the recent events. He was worried, he never told Kaner about the foster thing and he didn't want to burden him with this.

Patrick picked up on the third ring, “Hey Jonny”

“Hey baby, how are you?” 

“I’m alright, better now that I've heard your voice” Jonny could almost see him wiggling his eyebrows.

“I wanted to talk to you about something real quick..”

“We're going to see each other in two weeks, can it wait?”

“Not really… cause it won't be just me coming back”

“Oh? I know we've talked about threesomes before but you don't need to bring back anyone” Patrick was laughing at him through the line.

Jonny just rolled his eyes fondly at the man who was on the other line, “no bud that's not it, I wanted to tell you that a few years ago I signed up to be a foster parent”

There was silence on the other side, “Oh?”

“It was way before we got together and I honestly forgot about it until today”

“Because a kid needed a home today? Is that it?”

“Yeah, yeah I have a kid right now”

Another silence, “well what's their name? I can't wait to meet them”

Jon let out a breath of relief, “His name is Kirby, he's a bit older, he's 17 and a bit quite.”

“He sounds nice Jon, did you ask who his favorite team is? Gotta make sure he's not rooting for the enemy,” Patrick said with a laugh.

“Actually here's the thing, he doesn't have a favorite team because he doesn't know a thing about hockey.”

“What! Isn't he Canadian? Aren't you guys like legally supposed to play hockey?”

“I don't know, he was looking at some pictures and he didn't know that the trophy was called the Stanley cup!” Jonny could feel Pats eyes widen.

“How does he not know what it's called!”

“I don't know, but he's had a rough time so I didn't press that much, anyway I just needed to tell you before I told Stan, I didn't want to surprise you or anything.”

“Thanks for the heads up babe, I'll see you when you get back, I’ll set the apartment up for you guys.”

“Thank you honey, I love you, can't wait to see you.”

“I love you too Jon”

And with that he hung up. Jon looked up at his ceiling, he didn't know what was going to happen but he knew that it was going to be okay. He was going to help Kirby get the life that he deserved.

The next few weeks passed in a blur, he and Kirby started to bond a little, the kid was open to learning new things and was very helpful in the kitchen. He could tell that Kirby was warming up to him and that made him warm with pride.

When it was time to start packing for the trip back home he noticed that Kirby never unpacked his bags. That was fine but what bothered him was how worn they were, it looked like they were going to break at the slightest touch, so he went out that day and bought new ones.

When he presented them to Kirby his eyes grew wide, he slowly reached out and inspected the bags, like there was going to be something inside that shouldn't be there. After his inspection he shyly smiled at Jonny and thanked him.

Jonny knew that Kirby had a rough time around but this just made him want to protect the kid more. The feeling wasn't that new, he always felt this way around the newer rookies and when Stromer joined the team too. 

The day of the flight they made it to the airport in time and headed to their seats, he let Kirby sit in the window seat, he told him last night that he’d never left the country before and that he was looking forward to leaving.

The flight went fine and they landed at the Chicago airport, they went to baggage claim and headed out to hail a cab.

They finally made it to his apartment, when the entered Jon could hear the television playing.

“Babe were here!” Jon called

He laughed as Pat ran into the room, except instead of him giving Jon a welcome home kiss he headed straight to Kirby who was standing behind him.

“Hello, I’m Patrick, you can call me that or pat or kaner or whatever you want. I'm excited to know you Jon's told me a lot about you.” Jonny could see that he was nervous, he really wanted Kirby to like him.

“Nice to meet you,” Kirby replied, he was quiet but that was a common occurrence.

Jon grabbed their bags and showed Kirby his new room, “settle in kid, we’ll have a busy day tomorrow,” he told him.

Kirby just nodded and shut the door. Heading back to the living room he found Patrick on the couch again, he was wringing his hands together in a nervous manner.

“Hey baby,” he said, placing a kiss on top of Kaner's head, “What's going on?”

“He’s quiet,” was his only reply.

“Yeah, he's like that, not a talkative kid.”

“But he's happy right? Like he wasn't mad about leaving his home country?” Patrick rested his head against his shoulder as Jon wrapped his arm around him.

“He told me that he was fine with it but he's a bit anxious, so it'll take some time for him to warm up to everything.”

Patrick just nodded, accepting his answer. Jonny was trying to stay positive but he was nervous as well. He wanted this whole thing to work out and so far it was looking shaky. But tomorrow they'll go down to the rink, meet up with the guys and hopefully everything was going to work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! enjoy this chapter!  
> I'll get the next one up as soon as I can!  
> Next up: Kirby meets the team and certain Swedish boy, but it's not all smooth sailing


	3. Ice Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby watches the first practice of the summer and meets a cute boy!
> 
> TW: for anxiety attacks and mentions of abuse, I tried not to be too explicit  
> The section starts at "But he should've known the happy feeling wouldn't last" and ends at "He was still in this position when he finally heard someone speak."

_ It was dark, too dark, there was nothing around him for miles. But even with nothing all he could feel were eyes watching him, there were thousands of them. All looking at him. He tried to shrink into himself, tried to disappear but they wouldn't let him, he felt hands pull at him, they made him stand up straight, pulled his arms out until they were stretched wide. He tried to pull away but they wouldn't let him. Then the laughter started, they were laughing at him, mocking him, telling him he was a mistake, that he was unwanted, that he's a failure. He tried to cover his ears but the hands just got tighter. It felt like his wrists were on fire and no matter how loud he screamed they wouldn't let up. The more he screamed, the more he struggled the tiger the hold. He wanted out, he wanted this to stop. He was begging to be let go when he saw it. _

_ It was a figure, hard to tell who it was, in the shadows. They began to walk towards him, reaching out until their hands were around his neck, grip getting tighter by the second. He was crying now, still begging for his life…. _

Kirby woke up with a start. He was breathing hard and sweating, it had been a while since he had a nightmare like that. They didn't come often when they were in Canada. Looking around the room he was reminded that he was safe, he was in Chicago with Jonny, he was safe. The voices couldn't get to him now.

Looking outside the sun was just starting to rise outside, knowing that he wasn't going to get anymore sleep he ventured into the kitchen. He made himself some cereal and waited for Jonny and Patrick to get up.

He looked around the room once more, thinking about how this little apartment felt so much more like a home than the one in Canada. Jonny was obviously more comfortable here, with his team and partner than he was in his home country.

If Kirby had to guess it was due to Patrick, he looked him up last night and learned that he was American, so that must be a reason.

He didn't know how long he sat there at the counter when Jonny finally came in. Jonny said good morning to him before he started to make one of his smoothies.

“So we got a busy day today Kirby,” Jonny said.

“We do?”

“Yup, got a few things to do at the rink today,” he was saying this as if Kirby had any idea what was happening. “Just a little bit of training too, we got some guys coming down today so we gotta start getting ready for the season.”

Kirby just nodded, “alright, have fun I guess.”

“You can come if you want, just so you don't have to be alone all day.”

“Is that okay?” Kirby looked up from his bowl. He didn't really want to be alone after this morning, and he didn't know what he would do if that did happen.

Patrick entered the room just then, “You should totally come Kirby, there'll be a few guys around your age that you can hang with if you want.”

He slid in next to Jonny, placing a kiss to his cheek and grabbing the smoothie out of his hand. The whole display made him look away, they were so attuned with each other it made him jealous.

“Then sure, I'll go, maybe I’ll learn something about hockey when I’m there.” he said, Jonny and Patrick just laughed knowing that his knowledge in the sport wasn't the best.

“Alright then, well leave in a few minutes, be sure to dress warm then.” Jonny replied. 

Kirby put his bowl in the sink and went to get changed. He hadn’t been to an ice rink in a long time, but he remembered the feeling. He remembered the rush he got when going through a turn, the feeling of dread whenever he fell but the joy he got when he could get back up every time.

He smiled to himself as he changed, he couldn't help himself, he was born basically on the ice. It was exciting to get the chance to go back.

The drive to the rink wasn't super long, he chatted with Patrick a little bit on the ride. He didn't seem to mind that he was quiet, that he didn't really respond to his questions.

They pulled up to the rink and Kirby was in awe, it was unlike anything he'd seen. He never got to see a real arena before he was put into the system and this had to be a moment that he would hold close to him for a long time. 

He followed Jonny and Patrick inside and to the actual ice, like before he was so happy, the ice had yet to be used and it was clean, pristine. He felt an itch to go out there, just to feel the cold on his fingers. But before he could do anything he saw some guys start to head onto the ice.

They were wearing red and white jerseys, some with helmets some without. They were all laughing and knocking into each other. He smiled to himself as he watched them.

But he should've known the happy feeling wouldn't last. The people on the ice started getting louder, he watched as a bigger guy slammed heavily into someone a lot smaller than him, it caused Kirby to flinch. That happened a few more times, and then some started to shoot pucks into the glass, the walls, even at some of the players themselves.

He could feel his breath quickening, his chest getting tighter, he knew what was happening, it was a feeling he was used to, he knew that he had to leave. 

So he did, he got up and left. He wandered down a hallway, not caring where he was. When he felt like he’d gone far enough he sank down and put his head in his knees. He tried to focus, tried to get his breath under control.

But all he could see when he closed his eyes was him. It was the man from one of his first homes, he was loud, large, and he hated Kirby. He would constantly laugh at him, throw him around, hit him till he cried. He never let up even when the other kids were home. He used Kirby as an example, don't be like him and they wouldn't be hurt.

He was still in this position when he finally heard someone speak.

“... And then Alex told me he was going to get another dog and when I asked what he was going to name it he said Burt! Burt! That's an awful name for a dog honestly…” the voice said.

The person kept talking, Kirby began to focus on that. The person told him about how Alex wanted him to move in and how much fun they were going to have when the season started.

Kirby finally got his breath back under control and slowly lifted his head up.

“Hey your back, is everything alright, do you need anything?” the voice asked, he looked at the person and found him looking at a skinny guy with brown curly hair, he smiled at Kirby and waited for his answer.

“I’m okay, I… I just got overwhelmed a little bit, I just needed a second.”

“Don't worry about it man, happens to me too,” the guy responded, “I’m Dylan”

“Kirby” Dylan stood up, holding out a hand to him, he let himself be pulled up.

“Oh you're Kirby, taser was telling us you were going to be here.”

“He did?” that was interesting, he didn't think Jonny was going to say anything about him.

“Yeah, he told us not to overwhelm you, and not to embarrass him, guess we didn't do the first part,” he laughed a little bit.

He followed Dylan back to the locker room where he said the rest of the guys were.

He pushed open the door and called out, “Hey tazer I found him!”

Jonny immediately rushed forward and grabbed his arms, “are you okay? We couldn't find you I was worried.”

Kirby felt bad, he wanted to make a good first impression on his teammates and he messed up, he couldn't look Jonny in the eyes when he replied.

“I’m okay,” he mumbled, “Just a lot of stuff was happening, I needed some time alone, I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“It’s okay Kirby, I’m just glad stromer found you,” anyway come on, I want you to meet the guys.”

Kirby nodded and followed Jonny around the room, introducing him to the guys. He met a lot, it was hard to keep track also because of all of their nicknames. He got to meet Duncan Keith (duncs), Brent Seabrook (seabs), said hi to Dylan again (stromer), got to meet the famed Alex (cat), and others.

He was getting anxious again when they stopped in front of his stall. He was a bit shorter than Kirby, with soft looking blonde hair, he smiled at Kirby, he had a blinding smile, and a whole sleeve of tattoos on one arm.

He held out his hand and said with a smile, “hi, I’m Adam”

Kirby smiled back not knowing what to do really when Jonny nudged him a little but he snapped out of his trance and shook his hand, “nice to meet you man,” he said.

They shook hands and stared at each other smiling for a few seconds, neither of them dropping their hands. 

Jonny cleared his throat, causing them to jump a bit and drop their hands.

He laughed a bit, “Alright well we got to head back to the ice, let me know if you need anything okay?”

“Yeah, thanks Jonny”

“No problem kid, boqer get on the ice soon okay?” he turned to Adam.

“You got it cap” was Adam's response.

As Jonny left Adam turned back to him, he smiled once more before pulling his phone out from his stall and handed it over to him.

“Here I have to get out there but put your number in, we can hang out sometime, I’ll give it to stromer too.”

Kirby felt himself blush a little. He watched as Adam left and put his number in his phone. 

He walked back out to where he was sitting before and watched as the guys took to the ice again. This time though he felt more settled. More like himself, and he knew what to expect this time so he wasn't as surprised when pucks started flying and guys were running into each other.

He wasn’t paying too much attention when someone hopped into the glass in front of him, he jumped and saw it was Adam again, Adam waved at him, smiling again.

Kirby blushed and shyly waved back. He quickly put his hand over his mouth when he saw someone quickly approaching Adam from behind. Adam had a confused frown when Dylan and Alex jumped him, pulling his attention away from Kirby and into pushing and shoving to two away.

As the practice went on Kirby found himself feeling more relaxed than he could remember, it was a nice feeling, the paranoia from earlier gone.

He watched the guys race from one end of the ice to the other, enjoying the way they were all together.

He was glad he took Jonny up on his offer to come here, he may have gotten an anxiety attack but he did get to meet a cute boy so he’d say that the day was successful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys as always I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Leave some kudos and comments if ya want.  
> Please don't be afraid to talk to me here or on tumblr!  
> @sparklygemsuniverse


	4. Stunned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adams POV of the meeting and after  
> Pretty fluffy I think   
> no warnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!  
> If you haven't yet pls leave kudos and comment!  
> Also if you want to talk to me my tumblr is @sparklygemsuniverse

Adam did not go into practice this morning expecting anything to be different. He came into the room with Alex and Dylan to see the main core of guys talking. Jonny looked stressed and Kaner was obviously trying to calm him down. When he finally seemed to calm down he turned around and addressed the room.

“Alright you guys listen up,” he looked even more serious than Adam could remember, “I am currently fostering a kid and he's here today, I want all of you on your best behavior please.”

The guys there all nodded their heads and muttered agreement, Adam looked around trying to find the kid but he didn't see anyone new in the room.

“Hey Jon, where is he?” he asked.

“He's already on the bench, I told him he could watch from there,” was the response.

Accepting the answer, he headed out with the other guys. It was a pretty average start up until Duncs chased Dylan into the boards, he watched as Stromer crumpled to the ice. Everyone froze for a second waiting for him to get back up.

Slowly he did and Duncs led him off the ice, he could hear him apologizing to Dylan and telling him to head to the trainers and make sure he was okay. Jonny went to follow him out when he froze himself. He turned towards everyone still there.

“Has anyone seen Kirby? He was on the bench”

Adam shook his head, he didn't even notice anyone watching them. That did not sit well with Jonny, he quickly exited the ice and Kaner said that everyone should take a break while they looked for him. So Adam followed everyone else back into the room.

It had been about 15 minutes of just sitting around and waiting when Dylan came back in, behind him though was what caught Adams eye. Behind Dylan was probably one of the cutest people he had ever seen. The guy had short fluffy looking hair and big eyebrows, he was shy looking and his eyes were a bit puffy, like he had been crying.

Adam wanted to hug him until he was happy, he wanted to march over there and… hold his hand, but sadly he did not know this guy and did not think he would appreciate a random dude all up in his business.

He might have blacked out it's hard to say but suddenly the guy is in front of him, he introduces himself and shakes Kirby's hand, he can't get himself to look away from him. His eyes are super dark, but they look so soft like he could get lost in them so easily.

Sadly the moment is ruined by Jonny, which he can't fault him because they do need to get back on the ice. Before he left though he had the best thought and got Kirby's number.

Back on the ice he was doing his best to show off. He could see that Jonny was laughing at him, he could definitely tell that Adam liked the guy he was fostering. It made him a little nervous, he was always kind of scared that Jonny didn't like him and he didn't want to get on his bad side. Which didn't seem possible but hey, anything could happen.

He spotted Kirby standing by the glass so he skated up to it before hopping into it in order to scare him. He jumped a bit but laughed, Adam raised his hand in a little wave which was retired. He saw Kirby see something behind him but before he could turn around he was ambushed by Cat and Stromer. 

They tussled a bit before Jonny called them over and they went back to practicing drills. It was an easy practice and Jon let them go a little bit early today which was nice. He was the last off the ice and in the showers because he had to clean up.

He started getting dressed when he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

He turned around and saw Jonny, “Hey, whats up dude?” he asked.

“I’m good… this is a bit awkward but what do you think of Kirby?” was his response.

He didn't know how to respond, “He seems nice, um, yeah, he's nice”

Jonny just laughed, “Yeah, he is nice, but I want to know if you like him”

“I just met him, but yeah I like him”

“I just want to tell you that he's a good kid, but he’s been through a lot so if you do anything that upsets him or makes him uncomfortable, you're answering to me, got it?”

“I...I.. yes… yes sir” he was stunned, he knew that he was a bit weird when they met but he didn't think it was noticeable enough for a shovel talk from his captain.

Jonny just clapped him on the shoulder and left, leaving Adam speechless. He quickly got the rest of his stuff and headed back to Alex and his apartment.

He said hi to Alex and Dylan who were on the couch and headed into his room. He pulled out his phone and opened up a new message to Kirby. He debated what to say for the longest time before he settled on a simple,

_ Hey, nice meeting you at practice today :) _

There, he sent it, no going back. It had been a long time since he saw a boy and immediately wanted to know him. The feelings weren't super new but not unwelcome. He sat in his room for a bit when his phone dinged. He grabbed it and saw that Kirby responded.

_ Nice meeting you to dude! _

_What's_ _ up? _

He smiled to himself, sure the message wasn't the most interesting thing he’d ever read but Kirby still responded which had to mean something. 

He went to respond when, “Yo! Adam! I'm ordering food, what do you want?” from Alex. he sighed and walked back out to see Alex holding a takeout menu. Dylan was still on the couch but instead of Alex like he was used to, Ralph and Burt were cuddled on top of him. He took a picture and sent it to Kirby.

_ Hanging out with this idiot  _

_ Lol thats adorable _

Kirby had sent back a picture of Jonny and Kaner, they were on their own couch cuddled up together, Kaner was looking at the camera and jonny was oblivious to the camera which was pretty funny to Adam.

_ These guys haven't moved since we got home, help me _

_ Lol I would if I could, stay strong :P _

Adam smiled to himself before settling on the other side of Stromer who just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Adam just shook his head and smiled to himself.

For his first year in Chicago, it was looking like it was going to be good.


	5. Game Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby heads to his first ever hockey game where Adam makes a questionable decision but it turns out fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back  
> We got a new chapter today I hope Y'all like it!!!  
> TW: Kirby does mention some of the abuse he went through in the system  
> nothing is explicit and the paragraph can be skipped if it makes you uncomfy
> 
> Like always leave a kudos and comment!!  
> Follow me on tumblr @sparklygemsuniverse if you want to talk or just look at hockey players

Kirby could finally say it. It took some time but he had finally accepted the fact that he liked being in Chicago. He liked living with Jonny and Patrick, he liked going to the rink and watching the team practice. He liked traveling to new places with the team. He liked the friends he made on the team. 

He never expected to have this much fun in his whole life. Some days he woke up and refused to open his eyes, scared that it would all disappear and he'd be in another overfilled house with adults with good intentions but bad execution. But every time he'd open them, he'd be reminded of everything that he had gotten.

He would get out of bed and go to the kitchen where he'd most likely find Jonny making another smoothie and Patrick slowly waking up with a mug of coffee in front of him. They'd chat about anything and everything. Kirby could nearly forget about his past troubles that he had to deal with.

Somehow Jonny made him feel safe, like he couldn't be hurt anymore. The past few weeks alone he found himself opening up to Jonny more and more. He told him about some of the nicer homes he stayed in.

One night in particular, Jonny had asked him about being in the system for so long. It was just the two of them and he found himself spilling almost everything he had built up inside him.

He talked about the days where he was afraid to go back to the house because the people were so cruel. How he spent months trying to hide bruises and cuts from the teachers in school. How he used to flinch and hide away at any loud sound. How he transferred schools because the bullying and taunting got so bad that he was afraid to go back.

That night ended with tears, from both himself and Jonny, that night Jonny held him tight and told him how he never deserved what had happened to him. How glad Jonny was that Kirby had come into his life. They stayed up for hours talking and bonding. They truly became closer than Kirby had ever imagined.

Kirby had never felt as safe in a home before in his life. Even before going into the system he never truly felt like he belonged. But Jonny changed that, and he was so glad that somehow, the stars aligned just the right way to bring them together.

Another thing that would make Chicago feel like home, is a certain blonde Swedish boy, who was currently in the midst of texting him about the latest episode of the bachelorette. Which, granted Kirby didn't really care about, but once Adam had heard that he'd never watched it before he'd decided that was a crime, and had been committed to getting him to watch it ever since.

Ever since that first text that night after they met, Kirby was drawn to Adam. They could talk on the phone for hours, which they learned one time because they had been speaking late into the night when Adam said he had to go because it was 4 am and he had to get up in two hours. He had texted him after that practice and said they had to watch the time better cause he almost passed out on the ice.

Kirby had never had someone like Adam in his life. He knew he was getting attached. Every time they talked he could feel himself blushing or just plain staring at him.

He knew he was being obvious about his feelings when one day he was on the couch, texting Adam, when Patrick walked in and saw him.

“How's Adam doing?” He asked.

“It’s not Adam,” Kirby tried to defend himself but Patrick just raised a single eyebrow.

“Sure kid, like you ever smile like that when you text someone else.”

Kirby paused, that was true, he knew he always had a smile on his face when he was talking to adam. But he just shook that thought out of his head and ignored Patrick.

The next day Kirby joined Jonny and Patrick at the rink. They had a game that night and Kirby was going to attend. This would be the first hockey game that he’s ever seen. He hadn't gone to one yet mainly because of the noise and crowds. He didn't know if he could handle it. But after living here for a month Kirby felt like he could do it.

Like usual he followed Jonny inside but broke off to go sit on the bench near the ice. After the first time Kirby had been finding it easier and easier to watch without flinching every time a puck got shot at the boards or someone got checked. 

He sat and waited for a little, playing a game on his phone when someone slapped the glass in front of him. He looked up and saw Dylan.

They had also become friends after that day. They bonded a bit over time but they were definitely not as close as Dylan and Alex were.

He waved at him and watched as he skated away to join the others. He watched as the team ran through drills and played around a bit.

It took awhile but they finally left the ice. Kirby followed behind and met the others in the locker room.

He stood by the door for a minute waiting for Jonny to come out. They had plans to go to lunch with a few of the others guys and he was looking forward to that.

But instead of Jonny, the person who came out first was none other than Adam.

Kirby looked up and smiled, it was always a good thing when they had a chance to talk in person. They didn’t really get to see each other that much due to the fact that Adam was an actual hockey player and Kirby was just living with one.

He leaned against the wall while Adam walked towards him.

“Hey Kirb, saw you on the bench, what brings you in?” he asked when he finally got to him.

“Just waiting for Jon, going to get lunch when the guys are done,” he responded.

Adam nodded, “Heard from Jonny that you're coming to the game tonight”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Who ya rooting for?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

Shrugging his soldiers, he pulled up a smirk of his own, “I don't know, I hear the Avalanche are pretty good this year.”

“Hey-”

“Plus I looked up their team and I gotta say, their captain is pretty good looking.”

“He’s not that good looking…” Adam began to pout, “I'm better looking than him right?”

Kirby just laughed, “ I don't know… I think he might have you beat.”

Adam gasped, “It’s because he's Swedish isn't it?”

Kirby rolled his eyes, “Adam you’re Swedish dummy.”

“That's not important, you think he’s prettier than me,” Adam whined. He reached out to shake his arm.

“I promise that you are the prettiest suede,” Kirby threw his arm around Adam and drew him in.

“Thank you”

“On the Blackhawks,” Kirby finished. 

He felt Adam gasp again, he tried to push himself away from Kirby but he just held on tighter. He used his height to pull Adam into a headlock but Adam was stronger and broke free.

They laughed with each other for a few seconds before Adam stood back up.

“But seriously, I’m glad you’re coming tonight,” he said.

“Me too, it’ll be my first game so you guys better make it a good one.”

“Oh we will,” Adam said.

Just then Jonny and the others walked out. Jonny called out to Kirby, they both walked out and headed to lunch.

That night as Kirby was getting ready he realised that he didn't have any kind of hawks gear. He opened his door to call out to Jonny but to his surprise Patrick was already there.

“Hey Pat, I was just about to get Jonny.”

“Let me guess you need something to wear?”

“Yeah, do you guys have an extra jersey or shirt I could use?”

“I'll do you one better,” Patrick pulled his hands from behind his back, presenting a brand new jersey.

“Oh my god, are you serious?” he asked with wide eyes, slowly reaching out to grab it.

Patrick just smiled, he knew that Kirby wasn’t super used to getting nice things.

“Totally, now hurry up and put it on, we gotta go soon.” with that Kirby nodded and went back into his room.

He held the jersey out in front of him. In his head he knew that he was overreacting a bit but he couldn’t help the small tears that fell from his eyes,

He never had anyone buy him something this nice. He knew these weren’t super cheap and that Jon could afford it but he didn't think that he would.

Turning it around he was even more surprised. Instead of a 19 or 88 on the back and large 27 was staring back at him. He brought up a hand to trace the name Boqvist on the back. He could feel his face heating up. He pulled the jersey over his head and stared at himself in the mirror.

Looking at his reflection he barely recognized himself. His hair had grown out a little bit, his face seemed fuller and he didn't look as thin anymore. He was still pale but he could tell that it had grown darker by a bit. He smiled at himself, and he saw in his reflection, his smile reached his eyes. It was almost like he was a different person, a happier, healthier person.

He thought back for a second, he really and truly was happier than he’d ever been in his life.

He smoothed the jersey down and headed out to meet Jonny and Patrick.

The game was a lot of fun. He sat up in the family box with the other guys' partners and some of their kids. They were very nice and understanding of his and Jonny’s situation. No one asked too many questions, just let him enjoy the game.

Kirby didn't really understand everything going on during the game but he did know that something was wrong. 

It was the second period when it happened. Adam and Duncs were on the ice. Duncs had gotten the puck and was skating down the ice along the boards when number 29 slammed into him. It must've been at the wrong angle because Duncs crumpled to the ground.

Kirby held his breath as Duncs slowly got to his knees before the announcer drew his attention to a commotion a bit away from him.

There he saw 29, Mackinnon, struggling with another hawks player. It seemed from his angle that Mackinnon was getting a lot of swings in while the other was struggling to keep a hold of the others jersey. Refs were trying to pull the two apart when they turned and fell to the ice.

Shocked Kirby stood up from his seat and stared down at the ice. Underneath the Avs player was none other than Adam. His helmet had fallen off and his lip was bleeding, but that didn't stop Mackinnon. Soon the refs and some other players pulled to two apart.

Mackinnon was ushered straight to the penalty box, he got 5 minutes. While Adam was ushered off the ice. 

Kirby felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped a little bit before he realized that it was just Duncs wife. She looked at him with a soft gaze, looking down at his hands, they were shaking a little.

He spent the rest of the game in a daze, he couldn't focus, Adam had never returned to the game. Which Duncs wife said was just for safety, that he was most likely fine but that didn't calm him down as much as she thought it would. 

Soon the game was over, with the hawks winning by one. Kirby followed the others down to the locker room. He stopped by Jonny and Patrick, congratulating them on the win. He kept looking around the room though. Looking to see in Adam had come back.

“He’s in the med room,” Jonny said.

“What? I don't… I wasn’t-”

Jonny cut him off, “Bud, I understand, he's just outside, around the corner, you can go check on him.”

Kirby blushed and muttered thanks. He headed out to where the med room was.

He knocked lightly on the door before pushing in. Adam was lying on a table with some ice packs placed strategically on his arms and face.

“Hey,” he whispered, trying not to startle Adam.

Adam turned his head slightly before smiling.

“You know, when I said to impress me I didn't mean get into a fight.”

Adam let out a soft laugh, “I tried to get Landeskog to go at it but he said no, had to go for the second best.”

Kirby just shook his head and grabbed one of Adam's hands. He rubbed his thumb over his bruised knuckles.

“I was worried when you didn't come back, are you okay?” he asked.

Adam turned his head more, his blue eyes looking directly into his own, “Yeah, I'm fine, promise, just kept me in here as protocol, make sure my brain didn't turn into mush.”

Kirby nodded before Adam spoke again, “You were worried about me?”

“I mean, the other guy looked like he got you good, saw you were bleeding on the ice,” He could feel himself blushing again, something he seemed to do a lot around Adam.

“Hey Kirb?” Adam asked.

“Hmm?”

“This probably isn't the best place to ask but… can I take you out sometime?”

Kirby shot his head up, looking at him, “I…what?”

“I just, I like you a lot, and I want to take you out… like a date,” He was nervous, “if you’re interested that is…”

Kirby felt a smile appear on his face, ”I would like that a lot”

Adam smiled as well, “Good, I’ll text you the details.”

“I can't wait”

They stayed there for a bit before Jonny and Alex came in. They were still holding hands but didn't drop them. They said their goodbyes and left.

On the ride home Jonny looked back at him.

“Anything going on?” he asked.

“Maybe” was his response.

“Anything that has to do with you and Adam?”

Kirby just looked out the window, he smiled to himself before he responded with a simple “Yeah.”


	6. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's date time babyyyy  
> No angst or anything just fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> I hope you like this update!  
> I'm finally done finals so I'll try to get more updates soon.  
> My plan is two more chapters and an epilogue!
> 
> Leave a kudos and a comment!!  
> My tumblr is @ryangravytrain if anyone wants to talk

Adam was nervous, he had been planning this date for days. Agonizing over the smallest detail to make sure that everything would go correctly. He wanted to get this right, he couldn’t afford to mess this thing with Kirby up. He had been pumping himself up for weeks just to get the courage to ask Kirby out. That night in the med room after his fight had been one of the best he could remember. Even the next day when Jonny said that he could skip practice to recover, he didn't but the gesture was still nice.

He had a whole list drawn out on how the day was going to go, he was prepared for anything and everything that could happen, that includes a rogue fan somehow recognizing him. 

The list is as follows:

  1. He's going to borrow Alex's car and pick up Kirby right at his door, like a gentleman
  2. Avoid any questions about the day from Kaner and Tazer because he knows that they’ll try to
  3. Let Kirby choose the music on the ride but not tell him where they're going because it’s a surprise!
  4. Arrive at the zoo and walk in with their prepaid tickets that he bought ahead of time, like a gentleman
  5. Explore the zoo, buy lunch, go to the gift shop buy Kirby a stuffed animal of his favorite 
  6. Drive home, walk him to the door, **like a gentleman!**
  7. Ask if he can kiss him
  8. If yes, make sure it's the best first kiss ever in order to lock in date number 2
  9. If no, respect his choice and go in for a hug instead, still making it the best and locking in date number 2



It's not quite a twelve step plan but it was going to work. It had to work, because Kirby was quite possibly the best person in his life right now. He honestly still couldn't believe that Kirby had agreed to it.

He was still riding his high when Alex pushed his way into his room with Dylan.

“Hey buddy what's gotcha all excited?” Alex asked.

"I'm just pumped for today”

Alex sat down on the bed, dragging Dylan down with him, he had a weird look on his face. Him and Dylan seemed to be having a conversation with each other without speaking. It was getting him nervous when Dylan sighed and patted the bed next to him.

“Sit down bud, we need to talk” Dylan said.

He sat down slowly, not quite understanding what was going on.

“I know you're excited about your date later but Jonny wanted us to talk to you,” Dylan looked super uncomfortable about this talk.

“Jon wanted you to talk to me? About what?”

“About Kirby, you understand that he's had it a bit rough right?” Alex asked.

Adam nodded, he and Kirby had spoken vaguely about his life before he lived with Jonny. He knew that Kirby didn't like to talk a lot about his past because it put him in a bad headspace. Adam respected that, he was fine with not knowing every little thing about his life, he was sure that he’d open up once he was comfortable.

“Well, Jonny is just worried a bit, Kirby hasn’t had a real boyfriend… like, ever” Adam was a bit shocked at that, a good looking guy like Kirby never having a boyfriend, crazy.

“And he knows that you're a good person and that you care about Kirby. He just wants you to be sure to treat him good, ya know?” Alex continued

“I promise, I won't do anything to hurt him or anything, you guys know that!”

“Yeah bud we know, we trust you and Jonny does too, but Kirby is basically his son and is just being protective.” With that, they got up and left. Dylan just smiled at him and left.

Adam got up and started pacing again, he was nervous before but now that just skyrocketed. He didn't want to somehow hurt Kirby, but he knew that if he treated him differently then it would be obvious. He also didn't want Jonny to hurt him for hurting his “kid”.

So as he was getting ready for his date he kept thinking about how he had to make this date even better than he thought. Before there was pressure but after his talk the pressure was turned up to 100%.

Still sticking to his list, he grabbed Alex's keys, said his goodbyes, and began his drive to Kirby's.

He parked his car outside and headed to the door. Shaking off his nerves he knocked and waited. After a few seconds he began to panic, should he have gotten flowers or something? Does Kirby even like flowers? He didn't want to be sexist or anything. 

He was getting in his head and was about to pull out his phone and order flowers when he heard a commotion at the door.

He looked up to see Patrick at the door, he was holding Kirby away from him by a pair of kitchen tongs.

“Adam! What can I do for you?” He asked with a smirk.

“Um… I’m here for Kirby…” he responded.

Patrick looked back to where he was holding Kirby off with the tongs, snapping them occasionally, “Kirby why didn't you tell me Adam was coming?”

“I did you asshole!” Kirby responded, he managed to grab the tongs and yank them out of Patrick's grip. “Let me through,” He pushed Pat out of the way, “Tell Jon we’ll be back later”

Kirby managed to push through the door and stood next to Adam. 

“Alright boys have fun, Adam don't keep him out too late, Kirby be back before midnight.”

Kirby just rolled his eyes, he grabbed Adams wrist and dragged him back to the car. They just laughed at each other before climbing in.

“So where we going? You were being pretty vague about the details.” Kirby asked.

“That's for me to know and for you to find out, now here's the aux, play what you want.”

Kirby just laughed and turned on whatever country singer he liked that week.

They talked about nothing interesting on the drive. It was nice, just hanging out, no real pressure. He didn't want to sound like a bad guy but he liked Kirby a lot and he knew that Kirby felt the same way.

When they finally pulled up to the zoo he turned and saw Kirby's eyes widen and a smile start to appear on his face. He could cross going to the zoo off his list.

They left the car and Kirby began to head towards the ticket line when Adam grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the entrance.

They stopped and took a selfie on both their phones, Adam got their tickets scanned, when he turned around to go in he saw Kirby looking down at his phone with a blush and smile on his face.

He walked over and grabbed his hand once more. He saw that Kirby had set their selfie as his lock screen. That one thing gave Adam such a boost of confidence, he knew that this was going to be a good thing.

They wandered through the zoo, stopping at every animal. Laughing at each other, reading the plaques. Kirby made them play a game to see who could give the animals the craziest name, Kirby kept declaring himself the winner, but Adam knew that he should’ve won some of them.

They grabbed some lunch before walking around towards the reptile house. They were looking at a pretty dope snake when Adam got the confidence to lace his fingers with Kirby's, sure they held hands before but that was just, pancake, this time it was fingers laced together, waffles. (Alex and Dylan taught him the difference).

The sun was beginning to set by the time they managed to get back to the car. Kirby set his stuffed elephant in the back seat, claiming that it was more safe for a child there. Adam just laughed again.

He doesn't think that he's had a better first date. All his other dates were with people that he, yes, liked but Kirby was different, he knew it.

They pulled back up to Kirby's place and just sat in the car for a second.

Kirby turned to him with one of his small smiles on his face, “I had a really good time Adam,” he said.

“I did too, this was really good”

“I'm going to plan the next one though, going to have to find a way to one-up you”

“Oh there's going to be another one?” He smirked

Kirby smirked back at him, his eyes sparkling, “yeah, I think you’ve earned it”

Adam was going to respond when the lights on the porch started to flick on and off a bunch of times.

Kirby just shook his head and laughed, “Looks like I gotta go”

“Let me walk you up,” He said as he was already opening the door.

They walked up and turned towards each other. This was it, this was his chance, they held eye contact for a few seconds. Adam was leaning up a little bit and he swears Kirby started leaning down. 

“Can I kiss you?” Adam whispered, not taking his eyes off of Kirby.

Kirby nodded the smallest bit, he leaned down and closed the gap between them.

Now Adam has had a few kisses in his life but this one has to be the best one ever. He turned his head a bit in order to deepen the kiss. He placed his hands on Kirby's hips while the other put his hands on Adams shoulders, pulling him closer.

Adam didn't want it to end but the lights on the porch went out again. They broke apart and Kirby rested his forehead against Adams before he sighed and pulled away.

“I really had a good time, I’ll text you later” he said, he turned towards the door, stepping inside before turning back to Adam and sending him another one of his beautiful smiles.

Adam spent the rest of the night thinking about the day, about the kiss, about how sweet Kirby was, about what was going to happen for the next date.

As he lied down he smiled to himself. He startled at his phone going off, he looked down and saw a text from Kirby,

_ Hey, I left rollo in ur car, make sure he's safe _

_ Can’t wait to see you again XD _

_ Gn! _

Adam rolled his eyes and texted back a simple

_ Goodnight <3 _

_ <3 _

That was the last response before he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know if you guys liked this!! Give me some ideas too I'm always open!  
> Like and comment guys!!  
> Again I'll update this soon I promise!  
> Come talk to me on tumblr @ryangravytrain


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